I just wanted to add that most of the mugs were found in Arizona, not Florida. By the time I got to FL I was dragging boxes around with me.

Yes I know now that I suffer greatly from obsessive tendencies. I have gone through several stages during the building of this wall of insanity.

At first I would look at the very small collection and feel inspired to build it.

Then it got to the point of filling up a bookcase and I was very proud of the results of my hard work and persistence. I would look at my collection whenever I was down and cheer myself up by seeing what I could achieve if I put my mind to something and stuck with it.

This feeling continued as the collection got bigger but then I started feeling a little weird about it.. like it was taking over.

Then my wife started losing interest in it basically because it had become a bit of a nuisance for her, as it was at times alot of cluttery mess, until I found places to put new mugs.

Then we moved into a new place and I had to PACK IT ALL.

At that time, I had doubles and doubles and extras and extras and ... blah blah
It was all totally unorganized and mixed up.
I decided that since in a year or two we were moving across the country to Florida I would box it all up, wrapping each in Bubblewrap to survive the trip, and keep a logbook of what was in each box. I lettered each 3'x3'x3' box A, B, C, D, etc etc

It took three F'in weeks to box them all. By that time I was pretty angry at myself.. I felt I had really gone overboard. I was SO SICK of boxing these mugs, and being so ANAL about it at the same time- glueing every hairline crack I came across. Duh. I still had to pack up the real furnishings to make the move.

My wife just watched and shook her head.

So we get to the new place and I fill up the whole one-car garage with these boxes. I had blown out the alphabet and was marking boxes ZZ, XX, etc

So there the boxes sat. I unpacked about 4 of them to decorate the current place, which we stayed in for about 2 years. I ebayed off much of the extras to thin things down a little- but my issues were not over. I would see NEW UNACQUIRED mugs on Ebay and had to have them! I would get them, open the box, look at them, and then log them in the book and pack them in another box since we were going to move again.

My wife would barely see these mugs go by. She still thought I was insane.

Then we had to move across the country. I handed these boxes over to moving men. Like 35 giant boxes all obssesively marked "fragile" 10,000 times. duh. The tikis had become my albatross.

So we move into our Florida rental. There the boxes sat in a bedroom stacked to the ceiling filling it solid. They sat there for almost 3 years. Again new boxes were packed and added to the mess as my urges continued.

During these years I also attempted some trading. However, since I had opened and repacked boxes a few times in different homes, I had lost track of what mug was where. There were a few times I owed a guy a certain mug, and I'd have to unpack and repack like 12 boxes to find it. Again, duh.

So finally, we buy a lot in Florida and get ready to build a house. I have the plans all worked up, have the measurements made, know what shelving I'm getting, and make calculations/guesses as to if I can cram all this stuff in one room. I'd hate to part with anything... after all the trouble. I have to admit I had a pretty good mental image of what it would take after all this time.

So finally, the house is built, we move into a permanent location and the boxes are dumped in the dining room.

At this point I've moved these cursed boxes like 3 times over many years. The tikis are no longer a positive source in my mind- they are a reminder of how obssesive-compulsive I am. (I later told Duke that these tikis are to me like the scene in The Shining were they find the stack of typing paper with "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" written over and over and OVER. Duke laughs.. I sorta laugh.. heh.. heh..)

I slowly put the thatching up and just kinda procrastinate for a whole year. There's alot to do in a new house- landscaping, painting etc etc.. So I distracted myself from tikis.

Finally, after a year, I start cracking the boxes open. To my surprise, my wife is really excited. She sits on a chair and oohs and ahhs as I unfold the bubblewrap from each mug. She even recounts stories of where we found each one, and how excited she was to find this one, or show me that one. I ask her why she's excited- that I thought she wasnt interested in tikis all that much anymore. She says she only likes tikis when they are in the proper environment and people can come over and enjoy them and that now finally they will be in their rightful place and she can't wait to see them... go figure!

So at first unpacking, I was getting that feeling of "you've got a problem dude" but now, I'm excited about them again. I'm probably going to have to thin the collection down a bit due to space constraints, but I will be very happy when they are all unpacked, put in place and sealed in.. the thatch, bamboo and artwork on the walls, the flickering lighting going, and the Arthur Lyman floating around the air.. then I can sit back and once again get that good ol' tiki vibe.. I'm glad I've got issues after all.

When Shelley and I moved from Nevada, we had many Tiki boxes too. Our friends commented a little sarcastically on all the Tiki boxes. I had a flash back when we moved Poly Pop this summer. His Brother-in-Law told him he "Needed Help". I've actually been looking forward to see the photos of your new space. I know how much work goes into moving, painting etc. The place looks cool. I like the Bat Flowers outside too. Good job!!!
Mahalo,
Al

On 2003-12-10 04:21, Alnshely wrote:When Shelley and I moved from Nevada, we had many Tiki boxes too. Our friends commented a little sarcastically on all the Tiki boxes. I had a flash back when we moved Poly Pop this summer. His Brother-in-Law told him he "Needed Help".

Fatuhiva,
I know the feeling. Like you, I stored all my mugs in boxes and indexed them for years - while continuing to collect. I did the exact same thing packing them away as soon as I got them because I simply didn't have the space to put them out.

I don't have as many mugs as you but I've got somewhere around 400 now. When I moved to my new house it was exactly the same - boxes upon boxes marked FRAGILE. Fortunately, I had about 8 Hoity Toity's helping so I knew my mugs were in good hands. And like you, once I got to the new house I put all my mugs and tikis in the single car garage because its the only space I have that can hold them all.

We just moved in around July/August so right now, I'm still trying to get unpacked, organized and settled. Once I get my Tiki space ready, I'm going to get to start opening those boxes -- after YEARS of not having opened some of them!

I told Al, I've forgotten some of the stuff I have - literally. At least it will be fun to go through it all.

You've got a very impressive collection. Believe it or not, I still have pics from the first time you posted your collection on TC when it was still on Yahoo (yup, I saved them to my hard drive).

Have fun putting up your room and make sure to post pics of the whole thing once its done. I'm dying to see it all!!

I see one of the boxes marked Westwood set. Is that the set in the Book of Tiki pg.183. Knowing your collection it probably is. I'm ashamed to say I have a tiki collection.
_________________Original Art by
Scott "Flounder" Scheidly
www.flounderart.com

yeah i saw it on the news- It doesnt really concern me that much, especially since the shelves will be faced with plexiglass eventually and they are already bolted to the wall..

but i was thinkin "huh?" when i saw that.

"Major earthquakes are unknown in Florida, and minor earthquakes are not
common, but they do occur. The two largest earthquakes recorded in Florida,
according to the US Geological Survey database, occurred in 1780 and 1879.
Both measured VI on the modified Mercalli scale (used before the invention
of the Richter scale). The Mercalli scale is based on human reactions and
property damage; VI corresponds to "felt by all, many frightened and run
out of doors." So you see, these are not major earthquakes. "